Howdy. I am a newbie to this website.This looks like a good forum. My elk hunting partner moved away last year, so I am looking for another hunting buddy or group to join in the pursuit of the mighty elk of eastern Washington.

Hey there,
I'm also a newbie, and I'm a LONG way from home! I'm from SC, new to WA, and can't believe all of the hoops you have to jump through just to be legal to hunt here! I'm used to hunting SE species, Whitetail particularly, but want very much to meet some local hunters and learn the ropes! And have always wanted to hunt Elk...

aleete
Spend some time around the rifle ranges in your area. Most everyones helpful.
When it starts getting into the seasons. Many of the ranges allow non members to use their facilities for sighting and checking. For a minimal charge of course. You'll get a chance to meet some of the hunters in your area of residents.
I never plan a specific time to go out. Most everything is within a few hours of travel. Seems to be the way with most hunters around here. I hunt with a guy that has tagged deer in his back yard.
Spend some time around the towns, out in the areas you'd like to hunt. Get to know some of the locals. They'll let you hunt their property or lead you in the right direction.

I would recomend starting your Elk hunting career on the West Side. The Rocky Mountain Elk of eastern Washington cover a lot more ground, than the Roosevelt Elk of Western Washington, making them almost impossible for a beggining Elk hunter to pattern. In eastern Washington the elk have different spring, summer, fall and winter ranges that they migrate as much as 100 miles in between. In western Washington the elk pick an area and wont go too far from it.

The elk of eastern Wa are more like a gost story than any thing. They are here though. Numbers are extreamly low in the more northern areas of eastern Wa.
Very few elk are seen let alone killed during season in North eastern Wa. Not many people hunt this area for elk due to this reason. :( :(

To aleete,
Good luck in your hunting pursuits here in Washington State. As a "newbie"
to hunting in this state, you might find it tough to find someone to hunt with.
I am a NW native, 55 yrs. old and have hunted elk and other game animals for years. Since my hunting buddy moved away, even I can't find someone to hunt with. Your best bet is find someone you know at work, unless they are a bunch of gun hating liberals like where I work.
Dennis Fisk (El Hunter)

Newbie; Don't let the elusiveness cited by some folks deter you from pursuing
e. was elk. I have done both the east and west side and I can tell you this; Without insulting anyone; try and read bteween the lines. Elusiveness can mean that you can get away and do some real hunting. Where I go, I don't even see anyone on the opener. The fact is, it seems a large majority of WA elk hunters don't venture too far from the truck. This fact enables the able bodied hunter to go where the elk are hiding which is often in deep timber especially once they get spooked. I am a very serious hunter and go after elk as if posessed. Determination has enabled me to get an elk almost every year in E. WA. Read Jim Zumbo's book on elk hunting and you too will find ways to find the needle in the haystack and get lonely. But, you have to work your butt off
to put yourself in the right position. If you really want to get Elk you gotta dust off the boots in a major way. Which is why at 46 years old I start my fitness training for Elk hunting in June which basically involves running alot of hills3-5 day per week and playing Tennis. Good luck to you. Maybe someday when you
are way off the beaten path and thinking your the only one in the woods (besides the animals) we'll run into each other. Last year I ran into a sow black bear and her two cubs running straight at me....that was an adrenalin rush I my Brother and I will NEVER forget. Fortunately the cubs were old enough tthat they could run pretty well. The Sow stopped once about 50 yards from us to see if the cubs were keeping up with her and when she saw that they were they all veered off to our left and hauled butt. We were standing there
pretty much frozen with guns at the ready.

Understanding wind currents and thermals in hilly, broken terrain can often be incredibly frustrating. I've found that collecting and storing milkweed seed pods during the late summer has made me a better hunter in the bluff country that I hunt. These little feather like seed dispersers will float on the lightest of air currents and will show you what the wind is not only doing right at you're location but more importantly down range. I like to use the off season to float them...